Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said he told Mayor Zohran Mamdani that he “prays for him all the time” when the two crossed paths at the 9/11 remembrance ceremony, despite their recent public clash.
Giuliani, 82, and Mamdani, 34, shook hands and briefly spoke Friday morning while attending the somber ceremony at the Ground Zero memorial in Lower Manhattan.
The exchange came only days after Giuliani said he was “offended” by the idea of Mamdani, New York City’s first Muslim mayor, taking part in the 25th anniversary memorial honoring the victims of the September 11 terror attacks.
Giuliani has now shared what he says was said during the tense moment, while also offering unexpected praise for Mamdani for staying through the entire ceremony, according to the New York Post.
“We ended up facing each other. I said, ‘I pray for you all the time,’” the former Republican mayor told the Post.
Mamdani’s face was not visible during the brief interaction, but he appeared to respond before releasing Giuliani’s hand and turning away to greet others gathered at the memorial.
Giuliani said the mayor’s reply was simply: “Thank you.”
“We realized that if either one of us turned our backs on the other, that would have been the story,” Giuliani told the Post.
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said he told Zohran Mamdani he “prays for him all the time” during the 9/11 remembrance ceremony.
The encounter came days after Giuliani said he was “offended” by the prospect of Mamdani, the city’s first Muslim mayor, attending the 25th anniversary memorial for those killed in the September 11 attacks.
Giuliani later described the brief exchange and even credited Mamdani for remaining at the ceremony until the end, according to the New York Post.
Referring to Mamdani’s decision to stay for the full ceremony, Giuliani told the Post: “I give him credit for that. The whole event would have been different. It’s about respect for the families, the solemness of the occasion.”
‘I give him credit for that. The whole event would have been different,’ he added. ‘It’s about respect for the families, the solemness of the occasion.’
While acknowledging that their differences are ‘strong and haven’t changed,’ Giuliani nevertheless doubled down on his praise for Mamdani for staying ‘up until the very end.’
Still, Giuliani said he remains ‘concerned about him hanging around with guys saying 9/11 was our fault,’ according to the outlet.
The former mayor was also greeted by Vice President JD Vance as they arrived at Friday morning’s ceremony, with the pair shaking hands and exchanging a few brief, inaudible words.
Giuliani was famously dubbed ‘America’s Mayor’ for his leadership of New York City in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks.
Earlier this week, he launched a war of words with Mamdani ahead of the anniversary, accusing the Big Apple’s current mayor of ‘disturbing the people who are the most important people at that celebration.’
‘He stands in direct support of the movement that killed their children,’ he told Newsmax.
Mamdani pointed back to remarks he made Tuesday morning, insisting that 9/11 memorial services should focus on ‘the New Yorkers who were killed that day, their families, survivors, the first responders’ rather than politicians.
Giuliani was also greeted by Vice President JD Vance as they arrived at Friday morning’s ceremony
Giuliani was famously dubbed ‘America’s Mayor’ for his leadership of New York City in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks
Earlier this week, Giuliani accused Mamdani of ‘disturbing the people who are the most important people at that celebration’ if he attended the 9/11 memorial
Mamdani insisted that 9/11 memorial services should focus on ‘the New Yorkers who were killed that day, their families, survivors, the first responders’ rather than politicians
Mamdani released nearly 200,000 previously unseen records that appeared to show Giuliani’s administration was aware of the toxic dangers posed by the air quality in the aftermath of 9/11
He then released some 170,000 previously unseen records that appeared to show Giuliani’s administration was aware of the toxic dangers posed by the air quality in the aftermath of 9/11.
When announcing the release of the documents through an online city portal, Mamdani said people became sick after 9/11 because the leaders they trusted lied to them, telling them it was safe to breathe the toxic air.
Giuliani responded with a scathing statement through a spokesperson, saying the terrorists behind the attacks are ‘100 percent responsible’ for all of the ‘suffering and illness’ endured by New Yorkers, according to NBC.
‘It is a shame that Mayor Mamdani is now attempting to score cheap partisan political points by seeming to blame local officials who rushed to the scene, rather than radical Islam, for September 11,’ his spokesperson shared on Wednesday.
He also pointed the finger at the Environmental Protection Agency, saying the agency had declared the air samples safe before later ‘apologizing’ and saying ‘it did the best it could with the knowledge available at the time.’
Mamdani was also criticized by Republican former Gov George Pataki and relatives of 9/11 victims, who pointed to, among other things, past remarks made by some of his political associates about the attacks.
But Mamdani, who was an elementary school student in Manhattan when the attacks occurred, said this week that he loves the city and the country and described 9/11 as a ‘horrific act of terror.’
Twenty-five years ago, 2,977 people were killed when al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing two into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in Manhattan.
Mamdani said people became sick after 9/11 because the leaders they trusted lied to them, telling them it was safe to breathe the toxic air
Giuliani responded through a spokesperson, saying the terrorists behind the attacks are ‘100 percent responsible’ for all of the ‘suffering and illness’ endured by New Yorkers
Twenty-five years ago, 2,977 people were killed when al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing two into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in Manhattan
President Donald Trump was notably absent from the New York City memorial service, instead delivering remarks at the Pentagon after not being allowed to give a speech in Manhattan
Mamdani was an elementary school student in Manhattan when the 9/11 attacks occurred
One slammed into the Pentagon in Washington, DC, while passengers and crew on the fourth plane fought back against the hijackers, ultimately bringing the aircraft down in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Former President George W Bush, who was in office during the 9/11 attacks, joined Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden at the National September 11 Memorial in New York to mark the 25th anniversary Friday.
Other administration officials gathered at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania.
President Donald Trump was notably absent from the New York City memorial service, instead delivering remarks at the Pentagon.
